Strategy Hour | Online Marketing for Business Growth

Dear listener, we have hit 1000 episodes! I don’t think I ever imagined saying that out loud! But somewhere along the way, this little show became a thread that wove through nearly every season of my life and every version of my business. And before I step away, I want to write you a letter. Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com. Episode Highlights The 1000 Episode-Long Era. [0:00:35] What’s Next? [0:3:27] Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I used to think values were something you discovered once and then lived by forever, like a moral compass that stayed fixed. But I’m starting to wonder if they’re more like constellations. They shift a little as you move through different seasons of life. For a long time, I treated my values like a checklist: family, creativity, freedom. Those were the things that mattered. But when they stopped feeling aligned, I felt completely disoriented. Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ It wasn’t that my morals changed. Rather, it was that my priorities matured. And while that process can feel confusing and uncomfortable, it can also make space for who you’re becoming. Sometimes the same value takes a new shape. For instance, freedom might look less like flexibility and more like emotional peace. Today, I’m sharing what it felt like to go through that shift, what helped me slow down and listen, and how I began to see my values in a new light. Episode Highlights The Trip That Changed Everything [0:04:22] Learning to Live in the Liminal Space [0:06:23] Finding Alignment [0:11:56] Slowing Down to See What’s Next [0:16:25] Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes the business that got you here can’t take you where you want to go! Today, we are talking about when it’s time for experimentation and reinvention. This is not so much about how much energy you have to give and more about when you know that change is vital. Yes, it’s scary to make changes, but sometimes leaning into that discomfort helps you reinvent yourself and your business. Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ It’s easy to get a false sense of security around what worked before, but that can quietly become a cage that prevents you from considering other options. I’m curious, what are you maintaining because it feels safer, not because it’s still working? Episode Highlights Signs That It’s Time to Experiment [0:08:31] Reinventing Strategically [0:12:27] The Power of Debriefs [0:16:01] Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever hit a milestone you worked your entire life for only to feel absolutely nothing? We often spend so much of our time and attention focused on our future selves that we forget how to live in the present. But it’s not your fault! We were handed this invisible checklist when we were all kids. We’re supposed to get a good education and a good job, buy that house, get married, have those kids, and live that dream life. Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ We all thought we would feel a certain way if we did what society said would make us successful. But none of these things actually change who we are. It doesn’t change the emotions we experience in the moment. It just makes us compare ourselves to this inconceivable, impossible representation of what success looks like. Episode Highlights The One Thing I’m Learning About Success and Life Right Now [0:05:29] What I Learned When I Finally Slowed Down [0:13:21] How We Lose Ourselves Trying to Follow Someone Else’s Path [0:20:48] Why Success Isn’t Going to Make You Feel Safe [0:22:41] What It Might Look Like to Put Yourself Out There In New Ways [0:26:27] We’ve created a culture in which we are rewarding the outcome, not the effort. You have to beat yourself at your own game and outdo yourself every time. But eventually, outdoing yourself becomes impossible. Even if you’re not playing the comparison game and you’re only focused on you, how can you continuously do better than yourself all the time? Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Life doesn’t wait for you to have it all figured out. When unexpected challenges hit, your business needs to be ready to withstand the storm. In this fan favorite episode, Abagail shares how to build a sustainable business that can function without you at the center, why learning to ask for help is key, and what shifts you need to make so your work supports your life—not the other way around. Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ Episode Highlights Learning How to Ask for Help. [0:18:23] Imagining a Business That Can Run Without You. [0:30:03] The Very First Thing You Need to Do. [0:34:40] Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whatever scares you most will change your life the most! Today, I’m joined by Sabrina Shafer to talk about fear, a topic that every entrepreneur wrestles with. The kind that holds you back from the opportunities you know you were meant for. Sabrina has always believed that it’s okay to change lanes in your career, and when she got fed up with fear dictating what she did and didn’t do, her keynote, Fear Forward, was born. Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ We’re diving into the neuroscience of fear, how to spot limiting beliefs, and what it looks like to actually build a culture of courage. If you’ve ever wondered how to step into your full potential even though you feel afraid, this conversation is for you! Episode Highlights Learning to Be More Fear Forward [0:02:55] How to Rewire Your Fear Response [0:07:37] Common Fears in Leaders and Entrepreneurs [0:15:45] How to Challenge Limiting Beliefs [0:22:36] Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At some point, you are going to have a fork in the road and choices to make that may leave you wondering what is right for you. I have a lot on my plate at the moment, and it’s bringing up a lot of questions about where my business is going, the kind of products I want to sell, how I want to show up online, and what I want my life to look like. Obviously, I could just keep going as I have been, but I have had this inkling inside of me that something is supposed to change. Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ While I don’t necessarily know what, I know that things are moving in a new direction. During my discovery process of trying to figure these things out, a question came up for me: Am I choosing this change because it’s the right next step, or am I trying to escape something? Is this for growth, or am I running away? Running away from something because it scares you often is the wrong decision, so I spoke to my therapist, who gave me some great advice about this topic, and I wanted to share it with you today. Episode Highlights Signs That You’re Running Away from Something. [0:03:05] Indicators of Positive Change. [0:05:41] How to Know When It’s Both. [0:06:56] The Number One Thing to Get Clear On. [0:10:32] When Escaping is Necessary. [0:16:03] Special Thanks to Our Advertiser FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a decade of running a business, I’ve learned that success isn’t about making the “perfect” decision—it’s about resilience, clarity, and leaning into what you do best. Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ In this episode of The Strategy Hour Podcast, I break down the 10 most important lessons from 10 years in business ranging from mindset, leadership, and sustainable growth. You’ll learn why there’s no such thing as a right or wrong decision, how to filter out bad advice, why celebrating yourself is essential, and how to build real community so business doesn’t feel lonely. If you’ve ever searched for entrepreneurship lessons, how to grow a small business, or mindset tips for entrepreneurs, this episode is packed with strategies and reflections to help you build a business—and a life—you truly love. Episode Highlights You’re Capable of More Than You Think. [0:02:10] There’s No Such Thing as a Right or Wrong Decision. [0:04:22] Not Everyone’s Advice Is Worth Taking. [0:10:27] Lean Into What Comes Naturally. [0:12:36] Sharpen Your Strengths, Not Your Weaknesses. [0:13:41] Hard Seasons Will Come, But You Can Get Through Them. [0:24:27] Feedback Isn’t a Personal Attack. [0:26:52] Two Things Can Be True at Once. [0:31:14] No One Will Celebrate You Unless You Celebrate Yourself. [0:38:14] Building a Business Doesn’t Have to Be Lonely. [0:42:02] Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You don’t have to wait for referrals or cross your fingers for a viral post. There’s a simple, repeatable system to grow your list—one I’ve used to build 42,000+ subscribers and turn them into paying clients and students. In this solo workshop, I’m walking you through the exact roadmap, the lead magnets that actually convert, and how to set up steady lead flow (even when life gets busy). Are you at zero or scaling to your next thousand? Connect with Abagail on Instagram Email List Jumpstart We’ll talk about free versus paid entry points, how to stop the “nurture-only” habits that quietly dry up sales, and why mixing active and “set it and forget” strategies is the secret to sustainable growth. The whole goal here is to help you see your email list for what it really is: the most valuable asset in your business, one that can support you when life throws curveballs and still bring in sales while you’re away. Episode Highlights Why Email Marketing Still Matters [0:04:27] The Problem with Running Out of Leads [0:09:04] The Roadmap to 1,000 Subscribers [0:16:07] Creating Lead Magnets that Convert [0:21:12] Lead Generation and Growth [0:30:12] Email as the Foundation of Freedom [0:38:55] From Inbox to Income [0:47:36] Wrapping It All Up [0:59:00] Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if I told you that getting lucky on LinkedIn isn’t about luck at all, but rather about a strategy that’s amplified by your authenticity? Today, I’m joined by the founder of Liam’s Brand Stand, Liam Darmody, to discuss how he grew a thriving consultancy and a LinkedIn following of over 45,000 people by simply showing up as himself! Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠⁠ In this conversation, we break down his philosophy of ‘manifesting serendipity’, how to turn your LinkedIn profile into a lead-generating landing page, how to build an audience, and how to use tools to scale your presence without losing your personality. If you’ve been wondering how to market yourself without losing yourself or how to make LinkedIn work for you, then this episode is definitely for you! Episode Highlights What It Means to ‘Manifest Serendipity’ [0:05:03] The Four Pillars of Leveraging LinkedIn Effectively [0:16:30] Mastering Your Sales Strategy [0:28:48] Building Connections Using LinkedIn Sales Navigator [0:32:21] Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get ready for the wildest ride! I am seeing massive change, growth, and opportunities for small businesses today, and incredible ways to get visible. In today’s episode, I’m going to dig into what it’s like to get paid to grow your email list and how I’ve been using this strategy for almost a decade. Get Digital Product Jumpstart Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠ I’m ready to reveal what I’ve been doing and how I’ve been doing it, and give you guys the roadmap so that you can follow it step by step. It has been revolutionary to my business, and an incredible way to see consistent growth. I definitely think it’s going to solve the leads problem so many businesses encounter! Let’s dive in. Episode Highlights The One Thing Holding Businesses Back From Financial Freedom [0:09:11] What To Do Instead of Having To Start All Over Again [0:13:18] How I Went From Blissed Out to Burned Out and Back Again. [0:16:06] Why You Need to Join Digital Product Jumpstart Today [0:21:25] Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You’re not going to bring your entire wardrobe on a trip, you’re just going to bring what you need! I am leaving the country very soon and I thought I’d show you how I’m preparing my business to run without me while I’m gone. I am headed to the UK for seven days, and I am so excited because I haven’t left the USA in 13 years! ⁠⁠⁠Join The Co-op – The Membership for Online Businesses⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠ Last August, I joined a leadership course, and now we’re all going to the UK together. I’ve known for almost a year now that I am going to be gone for a week, and while I wanted to spend a ton of time preparing my business, I’m 10 days out and realizing that I need to get it together! I think we all enter a time in our business where we are excited about stepping away but don’t want to drop the ball. So I’m going to share how I’m (realistically) making it happen for myself and how you can too. Episode Highlights “Packing Up” Before I Leave [0:06:16] What I’m “Putting Down” [0:13:04] Packing My “Carry Ons” [0:17:20] Special Thanks to Our Advertiser ⁠FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is it that you’re ultimately trying to do? What is the legacy you’re trying to create? Considering these things is so important when building your personal brand. Today’s episode is a little bit different. We are flipping the tables as we rerun an interview I had on the Branded Impact Podcast, hosted by Jo Espejo. ⁠⁠⁠The conversation was so good, I want to have it on the Strategy Hour too! Join The Co-op – The Membership for Online Businesses⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Abagail⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠All the Links!⁠⁠ In this discussion, I explore what it means to do less than you’re capable of, how to know when to quit, the power of personal branding, and how you can build a business that works for you! I really want to hear what you think about this conversation, so please pop me a DM over on Instagram! Episode Highlights The Power of Branding Early [0:05:33] What Designing Your Business Around Your Bandwidth Truly Means [0:08:51] Doing Less Than You’re Capable Of [0:17:07] How to Know When to Quit [0:24:07] Pivoting Privately Versus Rebranding Publicly [0:31:42] Special Thanks to Our Advertiser FreshBooks⁠⁠⁠ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe, rate, and review The Strategy Hour Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. For show notes, go to thestrategyhour.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices